Mid-Winter MTB: Best Colorado Trails for Finding Dry Dirt

Yearning to ride dry dirt in Colorado, even during the depths of winter? Try looking up the latest conditions for the trails in this guidebook!

Greg Heil

Images

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Riding along the reservoir.

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Tom Mcenany

by Greg Heil

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Dust storm off in the distance

by Greg Heil

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Riding the XC trails on a gravel bike. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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by Greg Heil

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Riding the XC trails on a gravel bike. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Riding the XC trails on a gravel bike. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Riding the XC trails on a gravel bike. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Rider: John Fisch

by Greg Heil

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Dropping down the rocks slabs.

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Vitaly G.

by Greg Heil

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Rider: Kyle Fisch

by Greg Heil

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An interesting tangle of wooden bridges, rocks, and drops.

by Greg Heil

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Pedalling along the Hard Time trail. Rider: Greg Heil

by Philip Sterling

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Philip dropping down Hard Time

by Greg Heil

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Hard Time trail

by Greg Heil

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Island in the Sky Cliffs. Photo: Greg Heil

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Dropping down from the Island in the Sky. Rider: Greg Heil. Photo: Marcel Slootheer

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Dropping down from the Island in the Sky. Rider: Greg Heil. Photo: Marcel Slootheer

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38.540318°, -105.194223°

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Pedaling along the rim of the Island in the Sky. Rider: John Fisch. Photo: Greg Heil.

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View from the Island in the Sky. Photo: Greg Heil

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John pedaling through classic Oil Well Flats landscape. Photo: Greg Heil.

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View from Green Mountain

by J. Flynn

Licence Free

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Dropping down Unkle Nazty. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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Dropping down Unkle Nazty. Rider: Ryan Knobbe. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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Descending the Unkle Nazty trail. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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Descending the Unkle Nazty trail. Rider: Greg Heil. Photo: Marcel Slootheer

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Tight switchback on the Sand Dunes trail. Rider: Greg Heil. Photo: Brink Messick

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Hoodoo and small kicker on Lower Rusty Lung

by Greg Heil

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Lower Rusty Lung

by Greg Heil

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Railing a berm on Burn Pile. Rider: Greg Heil

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Rusty Lung

by Greg Heil

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Riding the technical trails at the Lunch Loops trail system. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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Riding the technical trails at the Lunch Loops trail system. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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Riding the technical trails at the Lunch Loops trail system. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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The terrain out at Lunch Loops can feel otherworldly. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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A few of the Lunch Loops trails are quite smooth. Photo by Leslie Kehmeier, Mapping Manager, International Mountain Bicycling Association. Photo courtesy BLM via Flickr Creative Commons.

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View from above. Photo: Greg Heil.

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Colorado River down below. Photo: Greg Heil

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Sweet singletrack on the Horsethief Bench Trail. Photo: Trailsource.com via Flickr Creative Commons

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Horsethief Bench singletrack with cliffs and the river in the background. Photo: Trailsource.com via Flickr Creative Commons

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Dakota Ridge Provided directly by author

by Marcel Slootheer

Creative Commons: Attribution
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Red Rocks

by Jeff Gunn

Creative Commons: Attribution
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Red Rocks just outside of Denver

by Alan Sandercock

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Matthew Winters

by Ben Mason

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Matthews Winters

by Ben Mason

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Mary's Loop. Rider: Greg Heil

by Marcel Slootheer

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Mary's

by Greg Heil

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Steve's

by Greg Heil

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Mary's

by Greg Heil

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Steve's

by Greg Heil

Description

When most people think about Colorado in the winter, their minds instantly envision soaring snowcapped mountain peaks and endless ski slopes. But what local mountain bikers know that many other people don’t realize, is just how incredibly diverse the state of Colorado is! If you prefer to pedal singletrack instead of slide on snow, even in mid-winter you can usually find dry trails to ride in this mountainous state.

Many of the best trails accessible in a day trip from the Colorado Front Range are found in the Banana Belt of Colorado. Colorado’s Banana Belt runs from the town of Buena Vista down the Arkansas River Valley all the way to Pueblo. All the way along this belt, you’ll find singletrack that stays shockingly dry almost all winter long. Out of all these trails, the singletrack at Lake Pueblo State Park is arguably the most dependable mid-winter ride in the state! Here, I've included two route options: one for riders who want to get gnarly, and another for riders who want to log some training miles.

Add in a couple extra-sunny trails in Denver itself and a few classics in the Grand Valley, and if you can’t find a dry trail to ride… well, there’s always fat biking!

Adventures

South Canon Trails

A diverse network with trails for all riders from beginner to advanced, the easy accessibility from town to such a big trail network is astonishing!

Oil Well Flats

Flowy bike-optimized singletrack trails filled with chunky, technical rock sections lead to an incredible overlook on top of Island in the Sky.

Lunch Loops Sampler

While easily accessible from the town of Grand Junction, the Lunch Loops provide rocky, technical singletrack to challenge even the best of mountain bikers.

Horsethief Bench

Horsethief Bench is the most famous trail in the Kokopelli Trail System, primarily because of its uber-gnarly drop down to the main trail. The views are spectacular as well!

Dakota Ridge Loop

One of the most technical trails on the Colorado Front Range—an enduro rider's dream!